St. Joseph's School in Kingston will stay open, leaders say

By KYLE WIND

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

KINGSTON, N.Y. -- St. Joseph's School, targeted for closure by the Archdiocese of New York, will "be open in September 2013 and beyond," Principal Jeanne Dolamore and the Rev. Frank Damis of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church wrote in a recent letter to St. Joseph's School families.

It "has been confirmed," the letter states.

The Catholic school in Uptown Kingston and St. Mary of the Snow in Saugerties are among 22 schools slated for closure in June by the archdiocese. Timothy McNiff, superintendent of schools for the archdiocese, initially said the plan was for Kingston Catholic in Downtown Kingston to take in all of the students from the two closing schools.

It was not immediately clear on Tuesday if the archdiocese had changed its plans. The letter asks families to be patient as school officials receive more information from "the local and the archdiocesan level."

Paul DeLisio, president of St. Joseph's Finance Committee, said local school officials have been talking to archdiocese officials, but he would not provide details.

Fran Davies, a spokesman for the archdiocese, did not return a reporters' email or phone message Tuesday afternoon. When asked for an update last week, she said: "Dr. McNiff is continuing in-depth discussions with both school communities and will not have any announcements this week."

When the archdiocese announced the closure plan in January, DeLisio said St. Joseph's School officials would find a way to keep the school open -- perhaps as an independent Catholic school, like John A. Coleman Catholic High School in the town of Ulster, or as a regular private school.

Kingston Mayor Shayne Gallo weighed in on the situation Tuesday, saying he opposes closing either Kingston Catholic or St. Joseph's.

The mayor, who attended St. Joseph's School as a child, described the two schools as "important anchors" for each side of the city that provide for "a fine Catholic school tradition" and serve "a very significant role to supplement public education."

Gallo also putting all the St. Joseph's and Kingston Catholic students in one building would cause him concern about such things as building codes, occupancy limits and traffic and parking congestion.

McNiff has said Kingston Catholic has the capacity to take in all of the St. Joseph's and St. Mary of the Snow students.